Samsung Solid State Drive 830 Series (128GB) Review and Ratings

Editors’ Rating:

Our Verdict:
Samsung's 830 Series SSD is impressively fast, and the company includes excellent extras in the box. Its slim shell makes it a fine fit for laptops, but desktop users will be well-served by this drive, too. Read More…

What We Liked…

Speedy performance on most benchmark tests

Thin, so fits in more laptops than most

Generous accessory selection

What We Didn’t…

A little pricey for the capacity

Samsung Solid State Drive 830 Series (128GB) Review

Introduction

Inside the aluminum shell, most solid-state drives (SSDs) are made up of components from various companies. Even large makers of SSDs, such as Intel and SanDisk, while they may make flash chips themselves, very often opt to use third-party controllers from companies such as SandForce in their current drives.

That's not the case with Samsung. The South Korean company, which is the second-largest semiconductor maker in the world (behind Intel), certainly knows a thing or two about NAND flash memory. The company makes memory chips for its own phones and tablets. It even supplied Apple with the chips for previous-generation iPhones.

But while most companies get their SSD controllers from an outside source, Samsung has built its own for its 830 Series SSDs. The S4LJ204X01 controller at the heart of the drive we tested is designed around a triple-core ARM architecture, much like a cell-phone chip. Combined with fast 20nm-process Samsung memory modules, it makes for a fast drive.

While the specific 128GB model we tested may sport a Samsung-rated maximum write speed of just 320MB per second (larger-capacity models in the 830 Series have faster rated speeds for writes), the 830 Series mostly kept up with other high-performance drives we've tested recently in nearly all of our benchmark tests. Note that we say “high-performance” drives to distinguish them from slightly less expensive “mainstream” SSDs, since some SSD makers offer a line that can be classified as one or the other. That said, the distinction is a subtle one, as far as upgraders are concerned, because all SSDs are quite fast performers when compared with conventional mechanical drives.

The 128GB Series 830 is not the fastest drive we've tested in any single test, but it certainly kept up with other high-performance drives we tested, and it stayed close to the front of the pack on some of the most important benchmark tests. That, combined with the excellent selection of accessories that Samsung includes in the box, such as a 3.5-inch drive-bay adapter for desktop users, cables, and a full version of Norton Ghost for drive migration, make it an excellent choice for enthusiasts and first-time upgraders alike. That said, those willing to pay extra for more speed may wish to opt for the company's newer 840 Series drives instead. (We expect to review the 840 Series down the line.)